How to Train for New Markets

Every industry and market has its jargon, its standard allusions, and its voice. For this reason alone, an editor does well to specialize; it sends a message that the editor is sympathetic to what the writer is trying to do and won’t undo their efforts.

Some industries are so specialized or regulated that it really does take special knowledge to edit in them effectively. For example, medical editors are more effective when they are comfortable with the terminology and know the overlying regulations in the industry. Editors working in educational fields do better when they understand learning theory, reading levels, and overlying guidelines writers are trying to address. The legal field requires us to maintain necessary linguistic distinctions. Product labels and materials for the financial markets need to adhere to industry regulations or the company that publishes it could face penalties.

How does an editor gain this knowledge? The president of BELS (Board of Editors in the Life Sciences) says they have to tap into the community. When editors want to work in the financial field, auditing the fundamental course in securities is their solid first step.

Attend the conferences

Join the association

Take part in discussion forums

Take classes

Read their publications

Niches that Require Topic Knowledge

Because of the governing regulations that affect them, these niches require extra knowledge beyond the basic copyeditor’s toolbox:

Medicine/ pharmacy

Education

Finance

Packaging/ labelling

Law

Do you work in a field that requires special knowledge? Log in to leave a comment, or join the discussion over on Facebook or Twitter.

About Adrienne Montgomerie

Adrienne works in knowledge transfer — here and in podcasts, textbooks, and corporate circles. She believes we can make even the most complex ideas and procedures easy for learners to take in, maybe even to master.
Adrienne is a certified copyeditor but is more known for pulling together multifaceted projects created by teams in a form that suits both the learner and the learning environment.
Learning about a wild array of subjects is part of the invigorating challenge that she loves about this work.
Her title credits range from aircraft build specs to sea-kayaking guides, and from geophysics to Aboriginal knowledge. But the focus on maths and sciences is how she earned the moniker SciEditor. She also developed a self-study program for editing with word.